The picture is of a kid in Basateen who seems to be everywhere. He has his eyes and ears open and tries to be a part of everything. In addition to being outgoing, he's smart and has a quiet dignity to him.
I saw him in the office today. He came to ask about rumours he's heard that the Yemeni government will expel all refugees from the country within six months. My immediate reaction was a smile and a drawn out "noooooo" but I realized he was genuinely worried.
I explained to this kid that there are close to 850,000 refugees in Yemen and that there's no way the Yemeni gvt could organize anything on a scale so grand. If you've seen the Yemeni military you know what I'm talking about. Soldiers in the same unit wear a dozen different uniforms; it depends on what was available at the time.
I got a kick out of the rumour but it's a little worrying that he was concerned about it. Maybe he was excited about it. Who knows? Oman might be better than Yemen for a lot of people. A change of scenery at least.
You hear many rumours in Basateen. A persistent rumour is that there are private individuals you pay who will resettle you in the US. I attempted to start a public awareness campaign to combat this lie (only the UNHCR can resettle you and you do not pay) but some of our staff insisted it's true. They said they personally know people who paid and were resettled. We had a heated conversation about it. They told me they don't believe the UNHCR. UNHCR is tricking everyone for some reason.
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